WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer Federation of America strongly condemns the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget request to Congress, which proposes the elimination of the CPSC and a catastrophic reduction in consumer safety funding and staffing. Consumer Federation of America previously raised the alarm over leaked Administration document which exposed the plan to eliminate CPSC. This budget request marks a crucial next step in moving forward with that elimination.
The proposal to transfer CPSC functions to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is unrealistic and dangerous. HHS is itself undergoing a dramatic reduction in workforce and funding, with widespread layoffs, public health program disruptions nationwide, and grant cancellations. With HHS facing its own massive budget cuts and staff reductions, the notion that a new assistant secretary position can effectively utilize HHS administrative and support functions is fantasy. As the proposal indicates, transferring CPSC operations to HHS will require Congress to enact authorizing legislation.
The budget request, which includes significant staff reductions, will impair the agency’s ability to detect, respond to, and prevent dangerous products from reaching our homes. The CPSC’s FY 2026 budget request aligns with the President’s budget request for an HHS consumer product safety assistant secretary at $135 million, which is $15.97 million below the CPSC FY 2025 enacted level. The funding will support only 459 full-time equivalents (FTE), a sharp decline from the 569 FTE supported in FY 2023.
“You cannot propose to eliminate a critical safety agency, bury it in a department that is simultaneously being gutted, then pretend Americans will somehow be safer,” said Courtney Griffin, Director of Consumer Product Safety at Consumer Federation of America. “The FY 2026 budget figures show a blatant disregard for actual consumer safety needs and are entirely disconnected to past effectiveness or evidence-based decision making. This proposal — to eliminate the agency and slash its budget — isn’t just deeply flawed, its detached from reality.”
Consumer Federation of America calls on all lawmakers, regardless of party, to support the CPSC’s lifesaving work. The CPSC is the only federal agency protecting the American public from dangerous and defective products. Its work has saved countless lives, and its work has a disproportionate impact on children. Dismantling or defunding this vital agency will leave Americans less safe.
“Congress has a duty to protect American families, especially our children,” said Griffin.” That duty does not disappear because an Administration chooses to abandon it. We urge every member of Congress to reaffirm their duty to ensure the safety of the people they were elected to serve and reject this shameful proposal.”